1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a tire handling device, and in particular, it relates to a device for mounting and removing tires.
2. Description of the Prior Art
It is very desirable, particularly in the case of large vehicles such as tractors or earthworking machines to be able to remove a tire from a wheel or remount a tire on the wheel without removing the wheel from the vehicle. Many of these wheels are very bulky and heavy and considerable time is lost if the wheel has to be removed or transported to a place where the tire can be changed. One of the reasons why it has been necessary to remove the wheel and tire is that it is almost impossible with large tires to change them using manual tools. Normally, a motor-driven tire changer is not suitable for use in the field or at some location where the equipment is being used.
In many cases, such as the tire changers shown in the Ekse U.S. Pat. No. 2,437,512, the Moore U.S. Pat. No. 2,482,789, and the Eberly U.S. Pat. No. 2,546,988, for example, the wheel and tire are mounted on a rotatable spindle driven by a motor which is housed in a cabinet, the tire and wheel being rotated preferably, in a horizontal plane. Obviously, this type of equipment could not be used with tires still on the wheel.
The Thomas U.S. Pat. No. 2,470,534 does show a tire changing device which can be used without removing the wheel. The equipment here, however, involves a stand which must be moved up to the tire and provision must be made for insertion of a portion of the equipment through a central opening in the wheel. Because of this, it is necessary to provide for vertical adjustment of the tire engaging apparatus since it must rotate about a central point. The result is that it is necessary to employ a very bulky arrangement which is not very suitable for use in a plowed field or in various locations in which earthworking machinery is employed.